


Peppermint Vanilla Beans

by lamentatio



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-07 11:47:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18410003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lamentatio/pseuds/lamentatio
Summary: Translated from pixiv with permission from original author ミゾ.Lisa Imai never thought she'd cross paths with the stoic Slytherin, let alone be friends, or even more.Follows Lisa's adventures in her 5th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [ペパーミント・バニラビーンズ](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/470972) by ミゾ. 



When Lisa heard the bang and ran towards the hallway near the Great Hall, the incident was almost already over. Two underclassmen were standing at approximately 5 metres apart, facing each other with their wands out, but both of them were still as stone. It looked like they had both cast a spell or a hex, or some other kind of magic. In the middle of the two, a barrier of light had been erected which reflected and erased any trace of magic used.

“20 points from Slytherin and Gryffindor!”

A stern voice rang throughout the hallway. Through the crowd, a third person holding their wand came through, with aqua hair tied up in a ponytail and emerald eyes shining with determination. Her necktie was green—a Slytherin Prefect.

The light barrier disappeared as she lowered her wand. Along with it the tense atmosphere in the corridor also dissipated, returning to its usual liveliness. One of the students involved—a Slytherin—woke up from her stupor and glared at the Prefect from her own house.

“Why are you deducting points from our house as well? It was that peasant who provoked me!”

“If you feel the other party is inferior to you, ignore them. Your actions lower our house’s esteem.”

The Prefect took out her wand as she answered coldly. Schoolwork and stationery around the feet of the red-faced Slytherin student gathered autonomously and packed up into a schoolbag.

“Just go,” said the Prefect when the student tried to apologise with an uncomfortable look on her face. Neither did emerald eyes follow the hastily retreating silhouette. Instead, she looked at the other reason for this commotion—the Gryffindor. More accurately, she looked at the person behind the Gryffindor. Someone who just stood there during the confrontation and yet also happened to be a Prefect.

“Private duelling on school grounds is against the school rules. I trust you to properly discipline your house’s student?”

“…Thanks for the tip. But it’s really difficult, cause they are so cute and energetic!”

Lisa sent the Slytherin Prefect off, plastering a smile on her face and waving goodbye weakly (which had probably been seen through by piercing emerald eyes).

The remaining Prefect sighed softly. With just a slight glance, she could see that her house’s student was trembling slightly and looking down to the floor. Even though the student was not someone she paid special attention to, it was known that she was a gentle soul (albeit feisty, like any Gryffindor) and didn’t particularly enjoy starting fights. While the girl was not crying, she was biting her lip with her fists clenched.

(…I don’t think I can discipline her.)

However, Lisa was still a Prefect, so she decided to do what she could do.

“Let’s have a chat when you’ve calmed down. Do you like lemon tea?”

She sighed gently once again when she saw the tiny nod from the lowered head. Upon entering her 5th year in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Lisa Imai had been living alongside incidents and commotions.

———

There wasn’t much time for rest in the life of a Prefect.

“Yukina, I really wanted to see you!!”

To Lisa, this was a very precious moment. In order to spend a decent amount of time with her childhood friend, they would have to communicate through owl to decide on a time to meet. To add to that, Yukina was a representative of her house’s Quidditch team which requires hardcore training. And Lisa was a Prefect. Inevitably, the only time that the both of them would be free was in the early mornings before class. But to Lisa, the time spent rubbing her eyes to stay awake while waiting in front of an empty classroom was her favourite time.

Yukina Minato was Lisa’s childhood friend and her best friend. They had basically been together since birth, owing to their fathers being classmates (Yukina’s father used to be a Quidditch professional, and Lisa’s dad worked at the Ministry).

“Lisa, you’ve been working hard.”

“It’s an everyday thing. But, you know, I don’t have confidence in myself anymore! Not that I had any to begin with!”

“You didn’t have to undermine yourself…”

Lisa felt slightly guilty for feeling comfort in seeing worry and puzzlement appear on Yukina’s face. She was happy she could speak as herself here and not as Miss Gryffindor Prefect. It’s not that Gryffindor wasn’t homely enough, nor was Lisa trying to beg for a friend’s concern. It’s just that the Prefect badge pinned to the front of her robes weighed down her heart.

“I can’t do it like her…”

She couldn’t help but think about aqua hair, emerald eyes, and the way she told her housemate to back off. By the time Lisa noticed the fight escalating from words to wands, that girl would have raised her wand and casted a spell without a single doubt.

“You don’t have to be like Sayo if you’re talking about her,” Yukina frowned at the groaning Lisa.

“Oh, I forgot you’re good friends with her…. Although I can’t be like her, I can’t help but think she does it right.”

“What do you mean ‘right’?”

“How can I say this… probably how she just solved the whole thing in a flash, and how good she was at spell casting—also taking points from her own house is really difficult!”

The barrier created from the spell _Protego_ was not perpendicular but slanted towards the marble floor. With this, one curse was reflected towards the ceiling, and the other bounced off onto the floor. Although Lisa had her wand out when she heard the commotion, she didn’t make it on time. Even if she did, she probably wouldn’t have been able to pull that off in the middle of a busy hallway. Neither did she want grudges held against her from taking points off her own housemate.

“…but Sayo has made a lot of enemies because of her work. I trust her, but not a lot of people look up to her.”

Yukina lowered her gaze slightly, thinking about Sayo’s enemies. Lisa didn’t know anything about Sayo, the Slytherin. From what Yukina told her, the girl was very serious with a strong sense of responsibility. From Lisa’s own eyes, she could see an excellent student who could make decisions in a cool manner.

Lisa recalled the frustrated face of the Slytherin who had points taken off her. The one who started the argument was the student in Lisa’s own house. Apparently, the two were like fire and water—whenever they met, they would throw insults at each other. That day, the bickering has escalated to a point which led to the both of them whipping their wands out. So both of them were to blame, the girl explained to Lisa.

The fact that the two girls were originally friends made Lisa sad. Starting at Hogwarts and being separated to different houses had taken a toll on their friendship. As they hung out with different people, their personalities gradually changed: the Slytherin became more stuck up, and the Gryffindor became more stubborn, meaning that they started to hate each other progressively.

If there were friends like Lisa and Yukina, whose undying friendship only grows stronger, there would also be friends that separate and go their own ways.

(Sayo probably wouldn’t care even if I told her…) Lisa couldn’t help but sigh again.

“Are you scared of Sayo?”

“Um… well, yeah, a little bit.”

“I see.”

(I’m not scared. It’s just she’s not the type of person I’d be friends with.) Yukina grimaced at Lisa, as though as she saw through Lisa’s feelings. Lisa had known that Sayo was an important friend to Yukina, but Yukina knew better than forcing a friendship to form between the two.

Lisa’s heart started beating a bit quicker as she saw how mature her best friend looked. Yukina had been cute since she was a child, and she would only become more beautiful. Lisa had witnessed how her eyes used to sparkle in wonder seeing her father play professional Quidditch; how she dedicated herself to Quidditch since early school years after swearing to regain the honour in her father’s name, who had been accused of doping; and how she flew in the skies, free from her burdens after her father’s charges had been cleared. That’s how Lisa knew that Yukina would just become more beautiful.

This was why Lisa would loose her composure slightly just by looking at Yukina tucking her hair behind her ear and her long eyelashes as she closed her eyes.

“Lisa, you should be the Prefect that you are. Just as you are.”

“Really?”

“Well, no one hates you, right? Being kind to everyone is your strength, Lisa,” Yukina smiled as she said. It’s a bit selfish, but Lisa believed she could go a tiny bit further just by looking at this smile.

Lisa thought to speak to the student who brandished their wand out of anger about Yukina. To prove that they could still be friends if they hadn’t let go of each other’s hands, despite being in different houses and having different opinions. At least, Lisa believed in this principle.

———

Lisa stopped in the corridor connecting the East tower where Gryffindor house was situated, hearing familiar meowing. She bent down and picked up the grey tabby cat she brought from home. The cat purred in Lisa’s arms, licking her chin contentedly. It probably wandered around school on its own accord since the early morning.

Maybe the cat went to visit Yukina, who was also present when Lisa met it for the first time. It all began when the two found the grey tabby that had been abandoned near Yukina’s house. The kitten didn’t look like it had been abandoned for long, still having the energy to meow despite its small figure and empty stomach.

It was the day they begged Yukina’s parents to buy a cat—only to get shot down as Yukina’s mother was allergic to cats. Lisa remembered it very well, only because they also went to pester Lisa’s parents afterwards on the same day. The fact that the kitten was close to Yukina’s place highlighted the possibility of the kitten being a magical creature. Although the two didn’t know if Lisa’s mum, who was a muggle, would be happy to take it in, they didn’t want to give up.

In reality, owning magical pets in a muggle community was forbidden by law. Luckily for the two children, Lisa’s dad worked in the Ministry of Magic and was a specialist in finding loopholes in regulations. Even luckier for them, Lisa’s mum loved animals. And Lisa’s dad had been head-over-heels for her ever since their marriage.

Lisa’s home in the muggle countryside had a bookshelf that connected to a closet in the Minato’s living room, courtesy to Lisa’s dad. Therefore, he could declare that technically the Imai home was an extension of the magical abode of the Minatos, so the possibly magical cat could live inside the house without any complaints.

“Meow, did you go to Yukina? You didn’t fall asleep again after waking up, did you?” The cat answered to Lisa with an extremely cute meow. Meow was what Yukina named the cat.

(I’m starting to feel embarrassed calling Meow Meow at my age…) However, it was the name that her best friend bestowed upon this cute feline. As she scratched Meow’s chin, she also took the chance to indulge in the warmth that mammals possessed. The cat’s temperature felt a bit too warm to be enjoyed fully at the end of summer, but Meow was an adorable cat.

Suddenly, Meow’s large ears sprang up. With a short meow, the cat lifted its bushy tail and leaned onto Lisa’s forearm, as though as it was looking for something faraway. After pausing for a few seconds, Meow jumped out of Lisa’s embrace.

It seemed a bit peculiar to Lisa. Although the cat was very much like a cat and lived life its own way, Meow loved being cuddled. When Lisa or Lisa’s mum was holding it, it would never leave on its own accord. The cat only escaped in fright if Yukina’s father knocked something down and made a loud crash. Yet today, Meow ran away from Lisa, big ears and fluffy tail still raised.

Lisa decided to give chase, her curiosity killing the cat. She woke up early to meet Yukina anyway. Furthermore, she had all her books and parchment with her, so she had time to kill.

———

She could see the bushy tail marching forwards without any hesitation, finally stopping after going in the opposite direction Lisa was going in, passing several classrooms on the way and running down the stairs. Meow was purring and meowing repeatedly, seemingly calling for someone.

Lisa thought it might be Yukina, but Yukina was probably returning to her dorms down in the dungeons of West tower. Without giving it any extra thought, Lisa stopped at the top of the stairs and crouched down, hopefully catching a glance of who Meow was calling out to. There really wasn’t any deep meaning to Lisa hiding in the shadows of the railing. It’s just that Meow was being overly affectionate to an unexpected person.

“…How did you sniff me out despite being a half-breed?”

Meow replied with a meow, rubbing its back against the person’s legs. The person had aqua hair tied up into a ponytail. From this position, Lisa could only see the top of their head, but without a doubt, emerald eyes would be staring down at Meow.

(S-Sayo Hikawa…!)

The cat brought its head up and licked the outstretched hand. The person who was neither welcoming nor rejecting the affection was way out of Lisa’s imagination, confusing her.

Although Lisa believed she wasn’t a bad person, it was difficult to not judge people by first impressions. To Lisa, the student Sayo Hikawa was excellent but somewhat scary. It was difficult to take in the image of her winning over the affection of the very same cat that shared such fond memories with Lisa and Yukina.

Standing on its hindlegs, Meow pressed onto Sayo’s legs with its paws and meowed with increasing intensity, begging for some sort of treat. Sayo sighed, perhaps with her eyebrows fused together.

“This is not pet food,” Sayo muttered as she placed her satchel onto the floor and took out a glass bottle (which was similar in size to the marmalade jam jar that Lisa’s mum loves). She opened the lid and took its contents out with a wave of her wand.

Lisa thought it was weird that Sayo had to use her wand for such a trivial task, but the mystery solved itself quickly. At the same time, Lisa had to suppress a scream. Lying there on the floor of the landing, slithering and bathing its own mucus, was a _lutovermis_.

A _lutovermis_ was a rather large earthworm-like creature that could live even in the nastiest of sludges. It had also been known to eat anything, even dead leaves and carcasses of animals. Anyone could find at least one or two by just digging up soil, but the mucus that it produced was often used to make antidotes. _Lutovermis_ were regarded as precious materials.

Lisa knew all of this only because she took Potions and Care for Magical Creatures, and _lutovermis_ were in the OWL syllabus.

(Wait a sec—what did Sayo say just now?)  Sayo told Meow this is not pet food. The fact that she said this…Lisa was reminded of her Care for Magical Creatures class. A _lutovermis_ eats like a vacuum, its mucus made nice potions, and—they made great fodder for magical pets, owing to their magic-storing physiology.

(Now that I think about it, Meow’s mouth sometimes smelled like strawberries…) Thinking about the strawberry-like smell the dungeons had after cutting up _lutovermis_ in Potions, Lisa nearly threw up.

Meow’s delighted meowing rang throughout the quiet hallway.

———

The whole school possessed a merry atmosphere on the last Saturday of October. Lanterns that served as decoration were made from pumpkins raised with the gamekeeper’s care and love, and great candle chandeliers lit up the hallways instead of the usual lamps. On top of everything else, a sweet aroma drifted throughout the entirety of Hogwarts. Lisa looked forward to Halloween every year.

In all honesty, Lisa loved sweets, pumpkins, and the anticipation of the party. Just feeling the cheery mood in the air helped lift up Lisa’s spirits. Normally, that is.

“Lisachi, you alright? You’d probably be better off sleeping in your room!”

“I really want to, but I can’t! It would be a problem if there weren’t any Prefects around today.”

“You don’t look too good though. I can’t take points off people, but I can keep watch in your place!”

“Ah—that’s right, people normally listen to what you say…but I’d feel bad. Surely even you’d want to enjoy yourself?”

“You’re really stubborn. How ‘bout having a rock as a badge instead of your Prefect one?”

Hina insisted Lisa to ask her for help if she couldn’t handle the responsibility. As she did so, Hina, who was just let off Quidditch practice, hopped onto her broom—not without taking Lisa with her. Lisa was made to sit behind her, hands around her waist, and then Hina kicked off.

“Wait, Hina!?”

“Ahahaha!”

Hina laughed at Lisa, who squealed at the sudden floating feeling. “One passenger to the top of East tower!” Apparently Hina was going to escort Lisa back to the dorms. “Slowly please!” Lisa screamed back, only to receive more laughter as a response.

Hina was the ace player on Gryffindor’s Quidditch team, holding the position of Seeker. She was also a daughter of a famous pure-blood family and top of the year, but somehow she managed to be bright and cheerful instead of boastful and arrogant. From Lisa’s perspective, Hina was the perfect student with many looking up to her as a role model. However, she’s a slight prankster who did things like flying around school without a care in the world, sneaking into the Forbidden Forest to play with magical creatures, and even falling asleep on top of the Astronomy tower after taking a stroll at night. This was possibly why Hina was not chosen to be a Prefect.

(Even so, it was really harsh of the teachers to tell me to control Hina’s antics…) Lisa’s little honest monologue was not something that Hina or other students were allowed to hear.

Lisa, who felt a bit more refreshed, entered the common room after tidying up her stuff and changing into a casual outfit for the party. Hina, her roommate, had already left, leaving Lisa to get ready at her own pace, but she still felt slightly under the weather. A headache had started again even after flying cleared her mind, with dizziness creeping up as well. On top of her Prefect jobs, she had several deadlines to meet for homework and was roped into decorating the school halls, severely depriving Lisa of sleep.

“Um, Lisa?”

“Yeah?”

“I heard you were exhausted. If it’s okay, you could have this?”

An underclassman of Lisa’s approached her. Turned out, it was the same student who caused the commotion early on in the year. She was worried about Lisa, who looked awfully pale, and held a flask of _Vampire’s Restorative Draught_ in her hands.

Lisa was overjoyed at the kind gesture of her underclassmen. Saying her heartfelt thanks, she drank it on the spot.

She didn’t want to think of it as a grave mistake.

———

She heard Meow calling for her. Meowing, meowing and more meowing. She felt bad for the desperate cat (who usually was very calm) and tried to pick it up for a cuddle. Her hands refused to move. Neither could she lift up her arms, nor could she see clearly. Half of her body was touching something cold and hard—Lisa realised she had fainted, albeit a bit too late. Her heart was pumping too loudly, her throat dry and itchy, and her body was shivering. It was freezing. In spite of that, she retained a clear consciousness somewhat miraculously and noticed that her head and neck were supported by something warm. But she didn’t know who was holding her, neither their face, nor their smell.

“Lisachi!”

Only a sharp voice reached her ears. It was Hina’s, who came to help even without asking.

It didn’t seem like Hina was the one supporting her as she was speaking to that very person. Lisa could only pick out something about a vampire, lack of sleep, and today’s body condition, but it was sufficient for her to understand that they were talking about Lisa’s current predicament. Hina’s companion only appeared to answer in short phrases.

“This could help.”

“You’re the best, sis!”

“…Stop it.”

It was only during that part of the conversation that Hina’s voice lowered.

Still shaking, Lisa was made to lie back with her mouth forced open. Some sort of liquid trickled down her throat, and she swallowed it unconsciously along with her saliva with help from a soft hold on her jaw.

Although the liquid itself did not have any temperature, it warmed up Lisa’s core. All the stress in her body melted away, bringing a sense of sleepiness. With it, noise returned to her ears, and scents returned to her nose. She could smell the sweet fragrance of Halloween, and a hint of mint—most likely the scent of the person who supported her.

(This, is more relaxing, I think.) Lisa’s thoughts terminated at this point.

———

“…What, for real?”

“Yeah, for real. She helped you, Lisachi. She held you when you nearly fainted and gave you a sleeping draught. I took over afterwards though!”

Even though Hina said it as a matter of fact, Lisa still couldn’t believe it.

She thought about aqua hair and emerald eyes. The Slytherin Prefect who always furrowed her eyebrows and glared at everyone had apparently came to Lisa’s aid. Lisa exhaled deeply as she stroked the purring cat.

(It’s not like, I’m unhappy about it.) Lisa was only feeling a bit dejected after wondering what Sayo thought about the undignified sight of her fainting in front of everyone.

It was Sunday afternoon when Lisa regained consciousness. Having a dreamless sleep allowed her to wake up feeling refreshed, and her fatigue that built up over the week had completely disappeared.

She vaguely recalled the events that led up to this mess.

The _Vampire’s Restorative Draught_ was very effective, successfully making Lisa forget how ill she was during the party. She remembered enjoying herself a lot, being in high spirits. However, her stamina was reaching its limit. It was when everyone returned to the room to rest that Lisa collapsed in the Great Hall. She clearly remembered feeling a stab to the chest, but everything afterwards was a blur.

Searching through her memories had made Lisa thirsty, so she reached for the glass of water on the bedside table. The door opened as she took a sip. “Oh, you’re awake!” Hina had returned with Meow in tow. Lisa asked her about the turn of events after she passed out.

“Um, like, I think Meow went to look for her.”

“For Sayo?”

“Yeah. Someone said so. They wondered why Meow took off after seeing Lisachi’s distress, but it all made sense when it brought sis back with it. Then you just went, like, _thud_. Wasn’t boppin’ at all!”

To summarise, Sayo arrived to save Lisa just at the right time. She then held her, gave her a potion, and left after putting Lisa in Hina’s hands.

(…I really can’t look at her in the eye anymore…)

There was a Prefect meeting next week. Lisa dreaded meeting Sayo. If she got told off for making a fuss or got scowled at, Lisa wouldn’t be able to explain herself.

“Apparently the reason you fainted was because of the potion you got. It’s got pretty bad side effects.”

“Huh? Wasn’t it like an energy drink?”

“Come on, Lisachi. It uses stock from potions given to people who got hit with _Stupefy_. Something diluted like that is for healthy and awake people to stay awake, you know?”

“So it’s not for people who lack sleep. Right. Was it too potent or something?”

“Well, yeah, it kinda depends your constitution too, so you probably weren’t really suited for drinking that.”

The reason why Hina sounded unnatural from time to time was because she was repeating what Sayo had said. When Lisa fainted, Sayo had asked Hina if she knew who gave the potion, prompting the student who did it to own up. Through Hina, Sayo had grasped the situation and decided to give Lisa a strong sleeping draught with a calming effect. After checking that Lisa’s breathing had stabilised, she started lecturing on the spot.

—Even though the draught is sold regularly, why would you give someone such a strong potion you have no prior knowledge of? Depending on their constitution, it can cause something like this to happen, and if we were unlucky, even death! This time, we were fortunate she fainted with people around and I had the right potion to give her, so it didn’t escalate to anything serious; but your actions still lacked thought and consideration. Therefore, 10 points from Gryffindor!

Hina’s imitations were brilliant. Halfway through, Lisa couldn’t stop herself from giggling, and when the point deduction was declared she had doubled over in laughter, squishing Meow in the process who meowed angrily at her.

From that onwards, a mini lecture on Potions commenced, which involved Sayo briefly talking about when and where to use a restorative draught. Lisa was slightly confuzzled as to why she gave a lecture next to her passed-out self, but she couldn’t complain since she turned out alright.

“Whew…how are you so good at this, Hina?”

“Wasn’t I great?”

“You were brilliant. But, I still need to thank her.”

“Couldn’t you just send, like, a letter via owl?”

“I’ve thought about that, but it’s probably better to do it in person.”

Apologies, appreciations and all things that come from the heart should be done in person rather than by paper. This was Lisa’s own principle and how her mother taught her.

When Lisa voiced her thoughts, Hina grinned heartily. “This is what I like about you, Lisachi.” Being complimented straight on, Lisa’s blushed with a smile on her face.

———

Even though she said to thank Sayo, Lisa had no idea what to do. She couldn’t just say a word of thanks when they happen to meet. And so, Lisa recruited Yukina’s help. In this moment, Lisa wasn’t particularly happy about having an excuse to see Yukina. She was glad she could meet her, but Lisa was serious. It was only because she had a dilemma that she specially asked to meet in the early morning.

Yukina was most likely going straight to Quidditch practice after, having descended to Lisa’s window on her broom in her Quidditch gear.

Lisa also liked this Yukina. She always looked great with her straight hair down, but Lisa couldn’t choose between that and her hair in a ponytail tied up specially for Quidditch. Staring at Yukina’s elusive neck would make her chest pound, so she opted to look elsewhere.

“So, something that would make Sayo happy?”

“Yep. It’ll be really rude to not give her a gift after all she’s done for me.”

“It’s just like you to do so, Lisa.”

Yukina smiled softly when Lisa told her how she wanted to do it in person. She rested her hand on her chin, looking thoughtful—possibly thinking about what Sayo liked.

Lisa wondered what that girl enjoyed. She probably liked potions, as she was able to respond to Lisa’s predicament immediately and explain the reasoning behind. She probably didn’t dislike animals, having given Meow _lutovermis_ to eat. That’s about it though. Lisa had only heard from Yukina that she had a friend named Sayo, who was an excellent student and often helped Yukina with studying and in life. However, she had never tried to memorise what Yukina told her, because she never thought they’d cross paths.

“Instead of asking me, doesn’t Sayo have a sister in your house?”

“Eh? Um, well, I heard that Sayo and Hina don’t get along, so I’d feel a bit awkward asking.”

“Oh, right,” Yukina lowered her eyes which puzzled Lisa. She should know much better than Lisa, who had only heard rumours.

Hina’s family was Sayo’s family. They held pride in being a pure-blood household, worshipped pure-bloods, and possibly hated all things muggle. Hina was the odd one out, choosing her acquaintances not based on background or skill but someone who was on her wavelength (i.e. “someone boppin’”), which was why Lisa, a half-blood, could be close friends with her.

Hina and Sayo did not get along. That was an understatement—they hated each other. The younger sister who was brighter than the already excellent older sister, and the fact that Hina thought differently to the rest of the family made Sayo despise her, while at the same time Hina only felt irritation. Lisa had also stumbled upon them acting upon their hatred for each other in hallways and classrooms. With Sayo criticizing and Hina taunting, it often ended with them facing away from each other in a suffocating atmosphere.

(Huh, it hasn’t happened lately though.)

Lisa swore she heard them converse on friendly terms when she was about to pass out. Or it could had been her imagination. The two who supposedly had a bad relationship helped Lisa together—but it could also be because it was an emergency, Lisa reasoned with herself and returned to Yukina.

“How about cookies? Your cookies are always wonderful.”

“It’s you who wants to eat them, isn’t it?”

“Well, I wasn’t joking. I’ve given some to Sayo once.”

“Really?”

“She was really happy about it since she never gets the chance to receive anything handmade, she said. —They were _Aojiru_ cookies, though.”

“Ew!”

 Contradictory to Lisa’s disgust, Yukina sounded a bit too lively.

Lisa knew what were in _Aojiru_ cookies. With flobberworms as base, plenty of various other worms and herbal powder were mixed together thoroughly to produce cookies a lovely shade of cyan.

Lisa also remembered the moment that cookie was conceived. It was the summer before their 4th year of Hogwarts. That day, Yukina and Yukina’s father dyed the Minato’s white kitchen a bright turquoise blue in the heat of the moment. Witnessing this, Lisa’s dad howled in laughter, Lisa’s mum watched on with interested, and Yukina’s mother popped a vein. Lisa herself was too shocked to do anything to stop them. The proud creation of father and daughter that day had made its way to Sayo. It was also offered to Lisa, but just looking at the cyan cookies made Lisa think of the ingredients, and she backed off rather quickly.

“So Sayo ate that…”

“She complimented it, and I quote: ‘ _It had a unique taste_.’”

Recalling how Sayo accepted the cookies, Yukina appeared to be delighted. Lisa doubted that was actually a compliment and had to stop herself from bursting Yukina’s bubble. Instead, she sympathised with Sayo from the bottom of her heart.

Now what? Lisa reached a dead end. Hearing stories like this about Sayo would just melt away any discomfort she personally had with her.

(…Wait, no, it’s not that this is a problem.)

There was still somewhere in her heart that didn’t feel right and couldn’t be put to rest. To Lisa, Sayo was brilliant and hard to get close to, and someone that she could never be friends with—or so she wished to feel. It was weird.

It was weird since being friendly and caring to everyone was something Lisa took pride in, something that Yukina had agreed to.

It was time, Yukina announced, opening her window. Lisa watched as she nimbly hopped onto her broom and flew into the horizon. That girl must be good at flying too, Lisa thought as she reminisced about aqua hair. Her hair would blend in beautifully with the sky—since Hina’s did, her long hair would do too, even more so.

———

Lisa made the right decision to discuss with Yukina.

“U-um, Sayo,”

“How are you feeling?”

“Huh?”

“Did you dream after being brought back to your dorms? Did you wake up the next morning? Any fatigue remaining? The night after—”

“W-wait, I can’t answer all your questions at once!”

Staying behind after the Prefect meeting disbanded, Sayo took one look at Lisa’s face before firing question after question at her. Her eyebrows were furrowed. As Lisa stopped her, Sayo snapped back into reality.

“Right, pardon me. When I saw you in class you looked fine, so I thought to let you be, but I couldn’t help myself.”

“Uh, thank you…yup, I’m alright. After that, I slept really well and woke up feeling refreshed.”

“I see.”

Lisa tried to show her liveliness by using extra body language, which surprisingly got rid of Sayo’s frown.

Without the usual stoicism on her face, it could be seen that Sayo’s face was very delicate. Although her twin’s slanted eyes were bright and adorable, the older sister’s eye were less so, giving her a more mature look.

(Maybe, she was worried about me.)

Sayo was curious about what happened afterwards. The enquiry was more than justified, since she had given more medicine to Lisa, who had fallen ill because of medicine. Reaching this conclusion, Lisa couldn’t help but think she should have given her thanks earlier. She could have arranged to meet anytime by enlisting Yukina’s assistance or sending an owl.

Lisa’s mind wandered even further. After the party, when Sayo had finally finished her duties, what would she have felt when Meow ran towards her while screaming bloody murder? What did she feel when she found someone on the floor, unconscious? Despite all of this, she still came to her aid without a single complaint. —Why? Something moved in a corner of Lisa’s heart.

“Once again, thank you very much. This isn’t anything important, but here are my thanks.”

Lisa managed to utter two sentences amidst her worries of ‘what would she say?’ and ‘will she like it?’. The package that she held out contained cookies freshly made with ingredients borrowed from the kitchen (she had Yukina tell her where it was). According to Yukina, Sayo liked confectionery but disliked anything that was sickly sweet. Lisa decided on making cookies with Earl Grey tea leaves, which gave them a sophisticated taste.

It was difficult getting to the kitchen. When Lisa arrived, there were too many house elves moving around, and at least one tried to make Lisa leave by forcing food into her hands. If it wasn’t for Hina swatting at the elves, Lisa would currently be holding house elves’ handmade sandwiches instead of Lisa’s handmade cookies.

In this school, everything was dramatic—but also majorly entertaining.

Lisa searched for a reaction from Sayo. She had a bewildered look on her face, staring at the pink pouch with starry decor.

“What’s this?”

“They’re cookies! Yukina can vouch for the taste.”

“…You’re giving this to me?”

Lisa nodded, confirming that it was indeed a gift for her. Sayo slowly took the packet off her, caressing it with both hands, handling it gently as if it was fragile glass.

Lisa couldn’t tell what Sayo was thinking. She didn’t look like she was angry or sad. But it was difficult to say for sure if Sayo was wholly pleased with the gift. This was the current distance between Lisa and Sayo.

Excellent but slightly terrifying. They could never be friends, nor could they ever be close. That’s what she used to feel about her, but now, Lisa wished to take a step forward.

That’s why she decided to tease Sayo. Putting on a mischievous smile, she brought her index finger to her lips.

“You don’t have to worry about any flobberworms in them. There aren’t any.”

“That’s—thank you for your concern. I’m glad.”

Her droopy eyes widened in surprise, and then—they smiled, narrowing as if they’d seen something bright.

This was probably Lisa’s biggest achievement of the day. Filled with a sense of accomplishment, she giggled. “I wouldn’t have even been suspicious if you didn’t mention it,” Sayo added desperately but without any hint of annoyance. Not like she could’ve pretended, Lisa thought. Sayo looked the least frightening Lisa’s ever seen, as she opened her satchel carefully with one hand and the cookies in the other.

Lisa stood there with a wide grin on her face until she couldn’t hold her laughter in anymore—Sayo just looked too amusing as she averted her gaze with a pout on her face.

(Ugh, what do I do now?)

Her heart started beating slowly but steadily. Now that she’d seen this side of Sayo, Lisa’s personal vendetta against her would be erased without a trace.

A grimace returned to Sayo’s face as Lisa snickered at her—but she didn’t attempt to leave until Lisa nearly collapsed with laughter.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lisa watches some Quidditch, and tries to deal with some Hikawa drama (and the upcoming Ball).

The weather was perfect on the first day of the Quidditch Cup.

Lisa opened the doors to the Great Hall in high spirits, having met with Yukina the morning before. She had said excitedly that “We will take the Quidditch Cup home”, swearing towards the sky. It wasn’t like the breakfast menu would change, or there would be anything special happening, but the special enthusiastic atmosphere surrounding all of Hogwarts was something Lisa liked.

Lisa wasn’t that bad at flying; she just wasn’t that passionate about Quidditch. However, she liked watching the matches and supporting the players. It was always difficult to choose between backing Yukina, her childhood friend, or Hina, her roommate, but even this made the start of the Quidditch Cup more enjoyable.

This meant that Lisa, along with all the Quidditch players and supporters, looked forward to the match ever since they got out of bed.

—which was what should have happened.

“Huh, sis, you’re not benched this year? Well done, you’ve finally made it!”

“You shouldn’t have to double check something that you can so obviously see with your own eyes. When did you brain turn into pudding?”

“Ahaha. It’s cause you make me wait. I’ve waited ages to play with you.”

“…Stop babbling nonsense. I can’t wait to wipe that shrewd look off your face.”

It was a strange atmosphere. What were the twins doing right at the entrance to the Great Hall? Hina, who was clad in Gryffindor red, was sneering at her sister, and Sayo, wearing the green Slytherin uniform, had her eyebrows furrowed deeper than Lisa had ever seen.

Danger. Tension was floating in the air. Students close by were looking on but none had attempted to intervene. Several underclassmen even looked frightened of the situation.

Lisa wondered if she should step in. Although it never escalated into anything more serious, it was not a pleasant feeling, especially as they were blessed with sunshine for the first match.

Even so, Lisa felt disappointed that she couldn’t do anything to help, since the two people involved in this mess were the first and second best in the year. She probably wouldn’t have been able face one alone, let alone both of them.

(Still, I can’t just sit and watch…)

Lisa saw how a girl in her house nearly burst into tears at the sight of Hina’s expression (who normally was bright and caring).

She took a deep breath and summoned strength from her core. She only needed to drag Hina back to the Gryffindor table—she’d think about the rest later.

When she felt prepared to take a step forward, someone pulled on Lisa’s sleeve.

“Sayo, what are you doing over there?”

“…Minato,”

“Breakfast is almost over. I want honey toast.”

Silver hair stood out from the forest green uniform, golden eyes glimmering.

Let’s go—Yukina called Sayo to her side and strode towards the Slytherin table without glancing back. Sayo glared at Hina one last time to which Hina responded with a teasing wave of her hands. She was grinning like she usually did, but at the same time it felt completely different.

Lisa sighed.

“Morning, Hina. Let’s have breakfast?”

“Oh mornin’ Lisachi! Are there any scrambled eggs?”

“There’re always some. Well, you need to eat loads to save strength for today.”

Lisa tapped lightly on Hina’s shoulder, bringing the usual Hina back. With this, the thick tension in the air dissolved and everyone around relaxed.

Little feuds like this were commonplace, but they still made Lisa lose her appetite.

———

“Welcome, welcome, the Quidditch Cup has begun once again this year! At the commentator stand, Hufflepuff 4th year, Saaya Yamabuki at your service. The first match of the year is Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw! Very exciting. Without further ado, let me introduce the players on each team! Firstly, we have Gryffindor’s captain—”

The voice amplified by _Sonorus_ reached even the corners of the Quidditch pitch. Players who had their names called appeared onto the pitch, and Lisa watched them wave at their housemates from the spectator stand. They only start flying after the introduction. Until the coach opens the trunk containing the balls, they wouldn’t even be able to mount their brooms.

“Last but not least, from Gryffindor, the long awaited Seeker—Hina Hikawa! …Wow, what applause! In last year’s match, she managed to snag the Snitch 5 minutes after the whistle’s been blown, renewing the school’s record of the quickest-caught-Snitch ever! Will she be even better this year? Regrettably, their opponent then was my very own house!”

Collected booing came from the Hufflepuff stands, sending the rest of the spectators into fits of well-meant laughter. The commentator followed up with a “It’ll be different this year, am I right?”, then moved on to introducing Ravenclaw.

Lisa wouldn’t be able to give her all to playing Quidditch, but she still enjoyed the anticipation before the match, the excitement during the match, and the exhilaration at the end. As the trunk opened and the Bludgers flew into the sky, Lisa’s heart leaped at the sight. She could no longer control her excitement.

At the coach’s signal, the players mounted their brooms. With the whistle, the fourteen players launched into the air, and Lisa cheered along all of the audience.

———

“Well, well, well! The Slytherin versus Hufflepuff match is heating up! The scores are 70-40 to Slytherin, but compared to last year when we lost with no points, don’t we all agree that our team is doing extremely well? Go, Kasumi, go! W-wait, what was that? So unlucky—huh? Yeah? Don’t be biased? O—kay! Kasumi made a nice shot towards the goalposts, but it got blocked by a Bludger sent from the Beater, Sayo! What kind of stunt was that, hitting a Quaffle with a Bludger? Slytherin seems to have kept a trump card up their sleeves! Please say it’s not just me that finds it a bit terrifying?”

It was against the rules for the bat-holding Beater to hit a flying Bludger directly towards a player situated in the penalty area, but there was nothing in the rulebook that banned contact between two balls—Hina explained from the side. Nevertheless, it was unlikely that Slytherin had prepared to abuse that loophole. More importantly, there was the danger of hitting their own Keeper. “Unbelievable…” Lisa concluded from the surrounding murmurs.

Hina shrugged, observing the players in the sky with a smile on her face. Were those eyes watching everyone, or the snitch-seeking Yukina, or Sayo, who was soaring from one end of the pitch to the other? Lisa didn’t know.

“Ah! It went in! It’s now 80-40 to Slytherin! It’s alright, we’re still catching up! Hufflepuff ball—whoopsies, Kasumi, you okay? Her pass got cut off! Hufflepuff’s team is mostly new blood, so their next aim’s probably stamina—ooh the Seekers moved! Yukina’s accelerating downwards! Ran, come on, go, go! …Ouch, that looks like it hurt!”

Yellow and green crossed paths in the air, descending down in a spiral. Lisa saw a drop rather than a descent from the bumpy paths they drew out in the sky.  “…Whoops,” Hina let out a small gasp. They most likely had been injured—Lisa finally reached that conclusion, which was probably the same one that the judge reached and prompted them to speed towards the collision. At the same time, yellow and green uniform-clad crowds grew restless.

“Eh, you’re joking, they’re both out like a light? Both!? The Snitch is—in Yukina’s hand! Match’s finished! Slytherin won! Both Seekers had been caught by their teammates and are both fine! Thank god…”

———

Lisa couldn’t stop herself from visiting the hospital wing with Hina, who tagged along without a complaint, but this might have been a mistake. The reason why she had that thought was because Sayo stood right in front of them. Apparently, she had just exchanged greetings with the school nurse.

To Lisa, Sayo was not aggressive. When Lisa greeted her at the Prefect’s meeting, she answered briefly in a similar fashion; Lisa even tried to make small talk with Sayo, who complied without ignoring or showing irritation at her attempts.

She didn’t feel afraid of Sayo anymore, but Hina’s here today.

(There’s no way I can ignore her, but neither can I drag Hina away and leave!)

What to do, what to do—Lisa decided to initiate conversation as a last ditch-attempt, to which Sayo responded normally. It didn’t seem like her attitude would worsen just because Hina was at Lisa’s side.

“U-um, how’s Yukina? I, um, got worried.”

“She’s sleeping. No injuries.”

“And the other girl?”

“She’s fine as well.”

Lisa breathed out a sigh of relief. Sayo’s answering like she usually did, with clear, concise answers and a few nods. Then, she fixed her gaze onto Hina. On her face, Hina displayed a smile with an emotion Lisa couldn’t read, and unexpectedly looked at Lisa. Confused, she turned to Hina only to find that Sayo was also looking at Lisa. The twins both averted their gazes and glanced at each other.

Finally, Hina scratched her cheek.

“…If Yukina’s fine then that’s brilliant. It’s best if we don’t bother her, right?”

“Before that happens, you’d be kicked out of the infirmary.”

“Oh right. Okay, Lisachi, let’s go.”

Bye sis—Hina waved at her sister, gripping Lisa’s wrist tightly. As she was lead away from the hospital wing, Sayo’s footsteps could be heard leaving in the opposite direction.

Hina had almost immediately let go of Lisa’s hand, however, Lisa didn’t feel like she could walk alongside her.

Lisa’s head filled with question marks as she stared at the back of Hina’s head, who walked half a step ahead of her. The conversation Sayo and Hina had just now was so drastically different to the sisters she witnessed in the morning, it further confused Lisa.

“…Hey, weren’t you on bad terms with each other?”

“There’s a lot to it, Lisachi—”

If Yukina gave me the okay, I’ll tell you eventually.

Hina mumbled without looking back. Taken aback by their apparent acquaintance, Lisa could only nod in agreement.

———

Lisa always met with Yukina in the middle of the week. Yukina appeared at her window, dressed in Quidditch gear and riding on her broom. Nodding to Lisa’s question of “Are you alright?”, Lisa tackled her into a hug—not without getting stepped on.

“S-sorry, Yukina!”

“It’s alright, Lisa…. Have you calmed down?”

Lisa should have been the one showing concern to the injured, but it couldn’t be helped. In the end, she didn’t manage to pay a proper visit to Yukina.  She caught glimpses of her when Gryffindor and Slytherin had classes together, so she knew that Yukina was fine, but Lisa felt a lot more reassured when they could speak face to face.

“…It’s hard being in different houses.”

“If only there wasn’t this peculiar rivalry between them.”

As Lisa pouted like a child, Yukina gave a wry smile like an adult.

Lisa didn’t know when this rivalry started, or if it had been present from the beginning of Hogwarts. What she was sure about was that Lisa’s house and Yukina’s house were mortal enemies. If they paraded their friendship around publicly, anyone would have frowned in disgust.

You two need to stay friends with each other, Lisa’s dad had drilled this into her mind.

—If you hear voices that disagree with your ways, go for a change of scenery—they’ll disappear rather easily. Well, we absolutely understand if you get frustrated at the noise though.

He said while drinking coffee Lisa’s made for him, smiling gently and shrugging. From the day that Lisa received her Hogwarts letter by owl, Lisa’s dad had predicted that Yukina and her would be separated into different houses. Lisa got sorted into her dad’s house, while Yukina entered her father’s.

(Now that I think about it, he wasn’t just talking about themselves.)

When attending Hogwarts, their fathers weren’t friends that stuck together all the time; rather, they upheld their houses ideals and shared a heated rivalry between them. Then, he was probably referring to Yukina’s mother and father. Yukina’s mother was Lisa’s dad’s underclassmen, who had proceeded to act as Cupid to introduce and bring the two together. It was rare among pure-blood marriages.

“You don’t really see many couples around like your dad and mum, do you?”

“Did you want a romance like that?”

“Eh, no, well…I’m just a bit jealous, that’s all.”

It was as if one of Lisa’s mum’s romance novels came to life. She couldn’t help but envy a little.

But, that’s about it. Furthermore, Lisa knew that it wasn’t very often that something like this happened. From a muggle’s perspective, it seemed very old fashioned, but in the magical world—especially in pure-blood families, fiancés and marriages were decided by the parents. Yukina might already have a fiancé chosen for her (who Lisa didn’t know about). Even Hina and Sayo.

Feeling somewhat left behind, Lisa chose not to pursue this line of thought.

“Even I have a dream or two! Something like, being escorted perfectly at the Yule ball by a prince who I would eventually get married to! But it’s nothing close to reality. Isn’t it harsh?”

Lisa’s own words stabbed herself in the chest. The dance party, which was held every few years, was coming up in a month, but Lisa still hadn’t found a partner to go with. More like she didn’t know where to start. Aya from her own house had targeted a person everyone thought was out of her league—Ravenclaw’s star, the Shirasagi’s princess, and got rejected flat out. But the next day, she had snagged Shirasagi’s friend, a pretty girl who mostly hid in the shadows, surprising the whole of Gryffindor. Her action points were off the charts.

(…Hina nearly died of laughter that day…)

Hina had guffawed while trying to motivate Aya. Hina didn’t mean badly, but the fact that Aya failed had slightly annoyed Lisa. However, the first one who comforted the dejected Aya was Hina, so Lisa didn’t say anything. Hina had teased and snickered at Aya so much it sometimes seemed pitiful to watch, but never did Hina once disregard Aya’s crush from when they started at Hogwarts.

Recalling the optimistic friend had lifted Lisa’s mood. Aya Maruyama was a strange girl; the house seemed brighter and more peaceful with her just being around.

Her lack of luck in the romance department had been made up for by her abundance of friends—as she wondered about Aya, she suddenly realised that she had absolutely no clue about what Yukina had been saying.

“So Lisa’s an escort. Being Hina’s partner…now that will be difficult to handle.”

Huh? Lisa questioned, and Yukina cocked her head in confusion.

———

Yukina had a frightening glare on her face, not dissimilar to how she looked like when she avenged her father’s name. Only—Lisa drew a blank thinking about the reasons why Yukina would be mad.

“We’re going, Lisa. Get on.”

“G-get on? On the broom? Where are we going?”

“To Hina! I won’t be satisfied by just complaining!”

With only this as an explanation, they arrived at the seventh floor of the castle, in the hallway where there was only a tapestry depicting a wizard attempting to teach trolls to dance. Yukina got off the broom, told Lisa to watch, and started walking back and forth with agitation.

A shiny door appeared where there only was a brick wall.

Lisa had once thought that she would no longer be surprised by anything in this school, but she had completely lost her words, letting Yukina drag her into the room behind the doors.

The room was called the Room of Requirement.

———

She thought that she had mistakenly wandered into one of the professor’s classrooms. It was extremely disorganised, parchment lying around in piles with an indescribable odour in the air. Some sort of experiment could have taken place here. In the depths of the room, Hina had sunken into a sofa, mumbling as she attempted to get up.

Yukina stomped towards Hina and—

“ _Rennervate!_ ”

Hina startled, launching into the air, and looked at Yukina with disbelief written across her face. It wasn’t surprising that she did. _Rennervate_ was used to awaken people who had fallen unconscious from stunning spells. If the recipient hadn’t completely blacked out, it was likely that they’d experience what Lisa did a while ago.

“What the hell, Yukina? I was awake!”

“That’s my line! What’s that about?”

“No that’s _my_ line! It’s too early in the morning for abuse!”

Yukina grabbed Hina by her collar and started shaking her in a rage. Hina protested loudly, desperately attempting to get out of the choke hold, but Yukina just responded with extra fervour. Lisa could only stand and watch the pair act out this almost comical scene, cringing slightly at how close Yukina’s wand was to gauging Hina’s eye out.

Enraptured by the sight, Lisa completely ignored another person who was lying by her feet, letting out a small shriek as they stirred.

“…ugh…what?”

“Huh, S-Sayo!? Crap, sorry, I might’ve stood on you!”

“…Imai?”

Lisa crouched down hurriedly only for Sayo to stare at her with a dead look on her face. Why on earth were you sleeping on the floor—Lisa questioned in her heart, but there were too many questionable things happening at the same time in this room. Anyway, she decided to lend a hand to Sayo to help her up.

With exhaustion plainly displayed, Sayo gave her thanks to Lisa, taking a small vial from the messy desk and downed it in one go. Steam came out of her ears with a ‘pop’ as Sayo’s face flushed, showing Lisa that she had consumed a _Pepperup Potion_. Lisa grimaced at the increase of dubious occurrences.

After recovering, Sayo undertook a series of actions.

Scowling at the two causing a ruckus, Sayo readied her wand like she’d done so for a thousand times.

Lisa had never seen anyone cast _Expelliarmus_ and _Silencio_ as intensely as Sayo did in her entire life.

“So, Imai. Why the noise?”

“Um, we were talking about the ball, then Yukina started ranting to Hina…”

“The ball? This year’s?”

Despite life returning to her face, Sayo’s brows were still furrowed, making Lisa feel like she was getting told off.

The silenced Yukina nodded fervently, jabbing at Hina with her elbow. The equally silenced Hina swatted back, but was easily dodged.

Sayo pressed her wandless hand to her temple. She might not have been able to think clearly because she had just woken up.

“What…about the ball?”

“I think it was something about my dance partner? Not like I’ve got anyone…”

“Isn’t it Hina?”

“Huh?”

“…huh?”

Lisa could not comprehend what Sayo’s train of thought was. Realising the Sayo felt the same, she couldn’t stay still. Instead, she glanced at the quarrelling pair. Hina had pushed back at Yukina with both hands, putting the two into a deadlock.

Lisa was tempted to smile at the sight of Hina (who was barely awake) putting up a fight with Yukina, who was going at it with her full strength, but now wasn’t the time for it. “…For the Yule Ball,” Sayo started, similarly looking at the two, “as tradition, the Prefect will escort the ace player of their Quidditch team.”

“…Really?”

“Only from around ten years ago. Apparently, popular students received too many invitations, which caused a lot of problems.”

“I-I see…”

“…didn’t you know?”

Lisa shook her head, and Sayo quietened down with an unreadable look on her face, as if she was contemplating something.

At last, Yukina turned the tables on Hina and backflipped out of her grasp. Looking on, Lisa sighed deeply, feeling put on the spot.

“I don’t know how to escort, neither have I prepared the right dress robes for it.”

It wasn’t Lisa’s intention to mix in a hint of pessimism, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t know the logistics of a party since her dad never brought the whole family to those from work. If she had to give an example, it would be the joint birthday and Christmas parties held at Yukina’s place every year. Those weren’t anything formal though, as they mostly just ate food that had been prepared. Lisa only had to dress a little more smartly than she usually did.

Lisa had learnt the basic steps to a waltz from her dad when she received the notice about the Yule Ball, but that was about it. She also received a beautifully made dress from her mum—not that she could wear it now, since she was apparently an escort.

“…didn’t you come here to discuss this with us?”

 A quiet, yet firm voice rang out—but for a split second, Lisa couldn’t recognise who it was.

At this time and place, only Sayo or Lisa could have spoken. Even so, Lisa was very unfamiliar with the warm, calming tone of said voice.

Sayo waved her wand, bringing the thrashing Hina and Yukina out of their induced silence. Returning the confiscated wands, she declared her plan in her usual authoritative voice.

“We won’t be able to accomplish anything right now. Minato and I will head to the Quidditch pitch. Hina, complete the formula. We’ll discuss again at night, when everyone’s calmed down.”

“Sis, where do you wanna meet? Here?”

“We’ll head over to yours. Minato, calm down. Hina knows a secret passage.”

“Right. I nearly snapped. Sorry, Sayo. And Lisa.”

“Yukina, Yukina, haven’t you forgotten someone?”

“Hm? There isn’t anyone else here…”

It seemed like another argument was going to start between them, but Sayo ignored them and started getting dressed, so Lisa had to be the one to step in.

(I really couldn’t follow what they were on about—anyway, did Yukina say she’s coming over?)

They didn’t have to worry about bothering other as Lisa and Hina shared a room for two, however, Lisa doubted they could finish tidying up on time.

———

Yukina really did show up with Sayo in tow at the Gryffindor dorms late at night. Somehow, the four of them squished onto Lisa’s four post bed in the double room.

Once again, Yukina Hina were at each other’s throats.

“You know, instead of discussing a strategy, can’t I escort Lisachi?”

“Absolutely not. You’re crap. Don’t you remember how many times you’ve stepped on my toes when we were ten?”

“So what, are you making Lisachi learn how to escort in such a short time? And have her ditch her dress?”

“Lisa’s a quick learner so she’ll be fine. She can wear the dress at my parties.”

“Why are you being so pushy ‘bout it?...”

Lisa could only observe and listen to the arguments which seemingly went in parallel lines, never crossing. Although the discussion was about her, she’s a bit miffed that her opinions had been put to the side-lines—but it wasn’t like she knew what to do either, so Lisa had decided to put her fate in their hands.

Right now, there were two possibilities. Lisa either learned how to escort Hina, or Hina would escort her instead.

According to tradition, the Prefect always was the escort, so the first suggestion had more pull to it. However, it was also a problematic one.

“Who’s gonna teach her then? Yukina, you can’t do it either!”

“Let’s have Sayo teach her.”

“Sis?”

“Yes. I trust Sayo to take care of Lisa. How about it, Sayo? Wake up!”

“…huh?”

Next to Lisa, Sayo curled up into a ball and stared at Yukina with drooping eyes. It appeared that Sayo had reached her limit, nodding aimlessly at everything that was said. Lisa couldn’t bear to watch, so she placed a blanket around Sayo’s shoulders.

Yukina shook Sayo, hoping to wake her from her half-asleep state, and repeated herself.

“I want you to teach Lisa how to escort. Is that okay? Hina will pay you back.”

“ Yukina, can’t we halve it?”

“What about it, Sayo? Is there anything that you want right now?”

“…Murtlap essence.”

“Sis, I know you’re tired, but you could ask for more, you know, not just some ingredient that happened to run out.”

“Alright, Sayo. Hina will prepare it for you.”

“Whoa, there’s a devil in this room!”

Ignoring Hina’s protests, Yukina made a pinky promise with Sayo, who agreed drowsily without any extra consideration.

…As the debate died down, Lisa wanted to let Sayo sleep after a long wait. “You can lie down if you want,” Lisa prompted, to which Sayo obediently followed, curling up next to Lisa. She looked just like a child as she buried herself into the bedsheets.

Lisa returned her attention to the other two, who were now discussing the tuxedo dress robes Lisa was going to wear. Once again, there was no room for input from Lisa.

“…You’ll be fine, Imai.”

“Hm? Sayo, you’re still awake?”

“Yes…. If you don’t say anything, they’ll decide for you.”

“Ah, yeah. But they are doing it for my sake. I’m sorry, Sayo, for bringing you into this.”

“Is that what you want?”

“…yeah.”

If that’s your wish, I’ll help as much as I can, Sayo assured, then she fell into a deep sleep, snoring lightly. The relaxed and innocent expression she wore seemed much more youthful than the one she usually had on during class or Prefect meetings, as if they were two different people.

—She wouldn’t have made that many enemies if she always looked like this.

Lisa mused, unconsciously reaching out with her hand. As she massaged Sayo’s shoulder lightly, Sayo fell into an even deeper and more relaxing sleep.

(It’s strange—until not very long ago, I was still afraid of her.)

The many incidences since early in the morning had numbed Lisa’s sensations. It was too late to ask Hina about what she meant by having “a lot to it” on the subject of the Hikawa household, but looking at this face had made Lisa impartial to whatever there was. Hina and Sayo weren’t actually enemies but were instead good friends with Yukina in the mix—this was enough for Lisa.

Well—if Lisa continued to be friends with the twins, she would hear the truth from them eventually.

Hina and Yukina’s lengthy discussion ended just a little past two o’clock. Lisa would be using Sayo’s spare tuxedo dress robes and matching shoes that would be sent over by owl.

———

Sayo’s ballroom etiquette lessons began early in the morning in the Room of Requirement. It ate up the time that was usually reserved for Yukina, but it was fine since she had decided to observe their lessons. Although Lisa liked relaxing with just her and Yukina, it was more entertaining with everyone present (of course, with Hina added into the mix).

It turned out Sayo and Lisa could get along pretty well.

“Just like Minato said. You’re a fast learner.”

“Really? Then that’s great. Although, I think it’s cause I have a good teacher.”

 Sayo shrugged. Lisa snickered and lowered herself onto a fluffy sofa. Even though both Yukina and Hina were absent, it wasn’t awkward spending alone time with Sayo. Lisa owed it to having slept in the same bed after the long conversation, since Sayo had slept like a pile of bricks (Lisa couldn’t bear to wake her up).

It was a bit weird as the distance between them had reduced drastically from when they met, but Lisa was just glad that with Sayo’s help, the less likely she is to embarrass Hina during the ball.

“Sayo, you should ask me for payment too!”

 “From you? Why?”

“I know it’s Yukina who asked for your help, but the one who you’re actually helped is me. Not only with escorting, but with stuff like manners and rules too.”

Although it wasn’t in the school’s curriculum, ballroom etiquette was something like common knowledge among pure-bloods like Sayo and Yukina.

Lisa didn’t understand the principle behind blood purity, neither did she understand the controversy behind being a half-blood. She had once tried asking Yukina, but Yukina herself questioned that kind of thinking—“It’s idiotic,” she mused with contempt on her face, so Lisa had let the subject drop. It made it harder for her to ask her dad, who had chosen a Muggle companion himself.

There were many other things that seemed trivial to most that Lisa did not know. She didn’t even know where to start.

“…Why am I a Prefect?”

The quiet murmur reached Sayo’s ears. She turned to face Lisa, still standing up. There wasn’t a frown on her face, but with the room’s lighting behind her back, Lisa couldn’t tell what Sayo was thinking with her face veiled by the shadows.

Let’s change the subject, Lisa thought, though she herself wasn’t sure why she wanted to hide it from Sayo.

“Well, you know, I don’t know much about the magical world. It’s not like I’ve got really good grades either, so I was wondering why.”

“Isn’t that the reason?”

“Huh?"

“The concept of blood purity is outdated, a thing of the past. They have chosen based on talent, not by ancestry or status.”

“Uh, I don’t have confidence in my grades though…”

“Yes, that’s why—right. How should I put it?”

Give me a moment, asked Sayo as she brought a hand to her mouth, falling silent. Her eyebrows furrowed as she contemplated seriously.

Lisa could only wait there in silence. Lately, situations like this were becoming quite common, Lisa sighed in her mind, but the fact that they couldn’t change anything caused some grief on her part. Sayo lifted her gaze.

“I heard that your mother is a Muggle, Imai.”

“Yup. A real muggle.”

“And your father is a Ministry worker. I have met him before. Since…he is pure-blooded.”

“Uh-huh?”

“That’s why you can be on either sides of the coin. It’s a precious skill.”

“…what do you mean?”

“We’re in a transition period. A period where traditions and old beliefs are phased out. That’s why someone like you, who is from both a magical and muggle background, is needed as a leader amongst others.”

Sayo’s words were confusing, so Lisa wasn’t able to understand it in one go. But, it felt like she had been told something very important, so she cocked her head, attempting to comprehend what had been said. Her companion looked straight up.

The face concealed by shadows—

“That must be the one thing only you could accomplish.”

—smiled.

———

There were plenty of students who were braver or had better grades compared to Lisa.

As she thought about the reasons behind, she could only plough on, telling herself that it couldn’t be helped that she was chosen. However, the “P” badge that was brought to her by owl only got heavier and heavier. Even now, it hadn’t just become lighter; it had a completely different weight to it.

“…Sayo, you’re cute when you smile.”

“I’m sorry?”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen you smile. You should do it more often.”

“…were you not listening to what I was saying?”

“No! I’m not joking! I really think it’s cute!”

“I do not care.”

“For real! Sayo, you’re adorable!”

“I said, I don’t care!”

Lisa picked up on Sayo’s slight difference in tone and her blush as she turned away. Even noticing the small voice that muttered “you’ll pay for this”.

Lisa couldn’t stop herself from grinning.

(I see, I…)

She had always wished to be this version of herself.

Like how dad was dad, and mum was mum, it could be concluded that Lisa was Lisa—she only had to be herself. She would do all she could and be the best Prefect that she could be.

(Although, I think, that’s the hardest part.)

However, it was way better than just forging forward without understanding anything.

“Hey, Sayo, can you continue to be my teacher? You might have to teach me the basics though.”

“Yes, of course. If you don’t ask, you will never understand. That’s not preferable.”

“Thanks. …Somehow, I feel like I’m getting to know you better.”

“I see.”

Sayo nodded with an earnest look on her face. Simple, little things like this made Lisa feel content.

———

The Hikawa sisters bumped into each other in the Great Hall, making everyone around nervous.

“Mornin’ sis. You look crap in this fine morning! Did you make out with a Grindylow?”

“Can you not enter my line of sight? I thought you were a Red Cap.”

Lisa knew that nothing serious would happen even if she let them be. But, she also knew that if she ignored them, the younger students close by would get frightened so she decided to intervene when the timing was right.

“—Sayo, come over here.”

“Hina, let’s go!”

That was perfect timing. As Sayo retreated back to Yukina’s side, Lisa pushed Hina away with both hands.

“Lisachi, wassup?”

“Nothing much. But you know, I’m a Prefect.”

“…?”

Hina cocked her head quizzically as she let herself be led away by Lisa. It was Lisa’s job to escort her.

Time had gone by in a flash, and the Yule Ball was about to take place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that canonically, the Yule Ball only takes place when Hogwarts hosts the Triwizard Tournament, but the original author wrote about a Christmas Party (which didn't exist in the HP books)--so in this universe the Yule Ball is something that Hogwarts hosts semi-regularly regardless. 
> 
> Grindylows and Red Caps: canon creatures, rather grim looking.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lisa and Sayo spend more alone time together, Lisa gets into more trouble, Sayo gets into some mischief, Lisa tries to go on a date with Sayo but instead gets herself a rival.

The extravagant Yule Ball was held in the evening of the third Saturday of December. Grandiose chandeliers levitated near the ceiling, accompanied by gold and silver decorations on Christmas trees lined up by the walls.

As a Prefect, Lisa had been dutifully decorating the hallways, draining her of her energy before the ball had actually started, but strangely enough, the sight of their completed handiwork made Lisa feel elated. It didn’t matter that she was exhausted, as it was nearly the holidays. The day after tomorrow, Lisa would be boarding the Hogwarts Express, not returning until after the new year had begun.

“You should have known better than to let Hina drag you around. You’re already exhausted.”

“Ahaha…it’s alright. It was fun, so it was worth it.”

“You’re too kind.”

Sayo uttered in disbelief as she drank from her glass, leaning on the wall next to Lisa. Compared to Lisa, who had apple juice in her glass, Sayo had chanmery. Lisa had stolen a sip from Sayo’s glass, but she found it too fizzy for her tastes (Sayo said it was just about right for her). On the other hand, Sayo complained that Lisa’s drink was too sweet after trying it.

They had practiced escorting for the entire month, but Lisa only had to dance with Hina for the opening dance. And, it was only a school event, so there wasn’t too much focus on formalities. It was mostly just house elves that were running around filling empty glasses. Even now, a dance-off was occurring in the middle of the dance floor, with Yukina and Hina at the centre of it all.

“Hey, Sayo, couldn’t I have worn a frilly dress today? It’s less formal than I thought.”

“You’re right. It might not have mattered. …Wearing dresses could have been a better idea.”

“Well then, can I invite you to dance with me if there’s another ball before we graduate? As two dress-wearing princesses?”

To Lisa’s light-hearted suggestion, Sayo’s eyes widened slightly. The corners of her mouth then twitched upwards as she nodded slowly, and Lisa felt accomplished. To the pure-blood, Lisa’s proposal was not something that she had pictured in her mind (it was contemporary at best, lacking common sense at worst).

The Yule ball, which only allowed 4th years and above to participate, was held every few years. The last party was held when Lisa was still a 2nd year. There were times where the parties were held a year apart, and there were times that they were held three years apart. It was unlikely that the school would spread the balls further than that, but Lisa was unsure if they had another chance to take part before they graduate.

If there was another ball, what dress would Sayo wear? Today, she had opted for form-fitting tuxedo dress robes, but since she’s pretty, she would most likely suit a dress for a princess as well.

“You know the dress that I have prepared for today? Mum chose it for me. Even Yukina hasn’t seen it. Anyway, I’ve never worn anything like a tux before, so it’s kinda fun!”

Lisa’s mum had chosen a velvet red dress for her, which had really flattered the current Lisa. She didn’t wear it to the ball, but Yukina said she could wear it to their Christmas party, so Lisa resigned to the fact that she would have to wait.

This was why Lisa was wearing dark tuxedo dress robes. Since they were fitted to Sayo, the sleeves were slightly too long, and it was very slightly too tight around the chest and waist. But, Lisa still looked pretty dashing in them, so she enjoyed wearing them quite a lot. It was the only time she could have worn something like this—it would have been a waste if she hadn’t.

As Lisa fiddled with the collar of her robes, Sayo finally opened her mouth after a pause.

“Imai, I heard that you are leaving the day after tomorrow.”

“Huh? Yeah, I need to pack tomorrow. I’m leaving with Yukina.”

“Right. Then, will you keep tomorrow evening free?”

“That’s fine by me! Any particular reason why?”

“Yes, I want—”

Lisa didn’t get to find out what Sayo wanted as they got interrupted.

“Ah, perfect, Sayo! Please help!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Some people got wrecked at the back, so the infirmary is packed. The nurse wanted me to ask for your help.”

It was a Slytherin girl who rushed towards the two. Lisa didn’t understand how people ‘got wrecked’, but Sayo seemed used to the situation. She downed the remaining contents in her glass and handed it to the nearby house elf. Sayo, although only a 5th year, knew more about potions than her upperclassmen, so the school nurse placed a lot of trust onto Sayo’s ability in utilising potions.

Sayo’s face hardened. She was wearing boots with higher heels than Lisa’s, so Lisa had to look up to see her face—forcing her to realise just how charming Sayo had dressed today.

“I’ll go too. I’m not as good with potions, but I’m good at first aid.”

“Thank you, Imai.”

Lisa wasn’t an expert, but she had a lot of experience in transporting unconscious students and putting bandages on them, only because Gryffindor had many feisty students and she had to get used to accidents happening. Even a little help would be appreciated when the infirmary was short of hands. Sayo nodded to Lisa with a focused expression.

The Slytherin stared at Sayo as if she had grown a second head—probably because of the amicable exchange between her and Sayo, Lisa reasoned. “It’s an emergency,” hurried Sayo. Lisa snapped back into the present and downed her drink as well.

———

Morning came.

They had somehow overcome the trouble-filled ball, allowing Lisa to take a breather; but she had been careless.

She promised to meet Sayo at six in the evening. “Please give me two hours of your time,” she had asked to which Lisa had nodded, so she had finished packing early. Hina had been told to run an errand for Sayo in the Forbidden Forest, leaving Lisa to her own devices in their room.

“Miss Lisa Imai! Pokey has come to pick you up!”

When she heard the sharp, piercing voice, Lisa had been placing a bookmark in between the pages of the romance novel she was reading. It was about a strong, hot-headed heroine who had a rebellious streak against her criticising companion. Aya strongly recommended it: apparently, lots happen between the two of them which brought them closer—a heart-pounding journey.

 The one that called Lisa’s name was a house elf with eyes the size of tennis balls.

“Pick me up…from who? Is it Sayo?”

“That is correct! It is a favour asked by Miss Sayo Hikawa! Pokey would like to ask Miss Lisa to get ready quick!”

“Get ready? For what? I didn’t get told about anything…”

House elves, just like their name suggests, were creatures that served the castle they resided in, often running errands for other inhabitants of the school and could enter Lisa’s room easily. Lisa knew that much. However, why did Sayo ask a house elf to come get her?

Furthermore, Lisa didn’t know what to prepare for. Seeing Lisa’s confusion, the house elf supplied:

“May Pokey ask where the princess’s dress is?”

Huh? Lisa froze. Are you alright, Miss Lisa—Lisa snapped out of her stupor as the house elf called for her. Opening up her trunk, she took out the item folded on top of the rest of her stuff, along with accessories and shoes. It was the red dress that her mum had chosen for her.

Handling the items delicately, the house elf beckoned, “please follow Pokey.”

———

She was brought to the Room of Requirement. It was a place that contained anything in one’s desire, but this time the room was almost empty, save for a wooden panel that screened off the back of the room. Lisa was led around it, revealing a dressing table and a matching chair behind. With expertise, Pokey swiftly assisted Lisa with changing into her dress and started styling her hair.

House elves were magical, they could do everything…Lisa daydreamed, completely drifting off into her subconsciousness. She didn’t know what was going on, feeling as if she’d been left out of the loop. Still, from what she could see from her reflection in the mirror, her appearance right now would have been what her mum had expected—and Lisa herself was very impressed.

“Pokey has finished preparing Miss Lisa!”

“I see. Thank you. You can take your leave.”

There was another voice that answered the high pitched announcement. It was the voice that Lisa wanted to hear the most, as it was the voice that could provide her with explanations.

Lisa swivelled around, and with force, tried to demand for some answers—but she was cut off.

“Sayo! What, in the world—…”

“Merry Christmas, Imai.”

Lisa finally understood why there was a screen in the room. Sayo appeared in front of Lisa. Not in her uniform, but in the black tight-fitting tuxedo dress robes that Lisa wore the night before. Sayo pulled it off better than Lisa did, and for whatever reason, this tuxedo looked nicer on her compared to the one she wore to the ball.

Moreover, the room Sayo stood in was no longer an empty space.

“You look beautiful. The dress suits you much better than the tuxedo.”

 “T-thank you…wait a sec, where, what? Where is this?”

“A party at my household. I don’t remember much, nor do I have many happy memories of them, so it’s a slight hybrid between that and the school ball.”

“…it’s a bit silly.”

“Sorry for that.”

Not the slightest hint of apology could be seen on Sayo’s face as she snapped her fingers. A record player revealed itself at a corner of the room, music playing from it although the record itself was absent. Lisa was sure that she had come across the piece before, but the name escaped her, which probably meant that she had once heard it at Yukina’s.

Sayo stood in front of Lisa, bent down a little, and offered her hand; her attractive face slightly above hers.

“May I have this dance?”

“…sure.”

Lisa had never despised her easily swayed, go-with-the-flow personality as much as she did in this moment.

Sayo’s escorting was perfect. Lisa danced like her dad had taught her, albeit nervously, and they had successfully danced throughout one whole song with Sayo leading.

At first, Lisa was quite nervous, paying most of her attention to her feet to stop herself from stepping on Sayo, but after a few dances, she could step forward without worrying, even dragging Sayo into a few twirls. And so, Lisa became out of breath from exertion and collapsed onto a soft couch. Because they were wearing different attires, even having a conversion seemed more exciting than usual.

“You’re so much better than I am at dancing, Sayo.”

“It’s only because I had to deal with being Hina’s or Minato’s partner from a young age.”

“Didn’t Yukina’s dad dislike stuff like this?”

“It couldn’t be helped—they had to.”

“With Sayo’s family?”

“Most self-proclaimed pure-blooded families are related in one way or another. For example, Minato’s mother is our father’s older sister.”

It turned out that Sayo, Hina and Yukina were cousins. That explained why Yukina and Hina held no reservations for each other.

Taking it in, Lisa sighed. It seemed as though she didn’t know anything about Yukina’s background, despite being together since they were born. Neither did she once think about the implications of her dad being a pure-blood, nor did she know about the social links of Yukina’s family. It couldn’t be helped since Lisa was raised in this fashion.

(…when I get home, I’ll have to ask dad loads of questions.)

If she brought the subject up casually, her dad hopefully would give her some answers. He might even touch upon things that he didn’t want to speak about if Lisa showed that she was comfortable with it. If nothing came out of that, she would just ask Sayo about the basic way of thinking amongst magical folk.

Lisa put a lid on top of these negative thoughts. Right now, she wanted to enjoy herself to the fullest.

“Hey, Sayo, why did you want to spend two hours with me?”

“It’s the reward that you offered me. I wanted you to take a break and relax.”

“Uh-huh. So, is having the company of a prettily dressed girl your type of relaxation?”

“Wha—you’ve put it in such a misleading way!”

“I’m joking! You just wanted to spend time with a friend, didn’t you?”

Grinning playfully, Lisa stood up from her chair. She wasn’t used to wearing high heels, but her feet didn’t ache. It was more likely that she’d be sore tomorrow from all the dancing. But since Lisa had decided to savour every moment, she smiled as she offered an outstretched hand to Sayo. As they talked, the promised two hours had flown by.

“As a bonus, I’ll give you one more dance. Be my escort.”

“…I am honoured.”

The corners of Sayo’s mouth twitched as she answered courteously, and unnamed music started playing in the background. Lisa had already danced with unfamiliar steps several times, yet her body still felt as light as a feather.

———

Hina welcomed Lisa back from the Christmas holidays with open arms.

(“It was so lonely this year too! Everyone leaves. The Great Hall was basically empty, and they only put food on the professors’ table. Bet you haven’t seen it before, Lisachi!”) Dealing with Hina’s machine gun talk while unpacking her trunk was routine every year.

Until second year, Hina had went home for Christmas. Then, she started staying in the dorms, catching Lisa whenever she’d returned to complain about how boring it was during the holidays (but in good spirits).

Every time this happened, Lisa would be reminded of the fact that she’s back in Hogwarts. If Lisa was asked where home was, she would definitely reply with the Muggle village where her parents abide in. But since she’d started here, half of the year would be spent in the school dorms, so it could be said that Hogwarts was her second home.

Like jumping into her mother’s arms when being picked up at the station, being ambushed by Hina at the Gryffindor common room gave Lisa a sense of relief. Lisa found it slightly amusing.

 

Hina wouldn’t stop talking. School was really quiet without everyone there during the holidays, so she had set off fireworks in the corridors; the gamekeeper, who was unoccupied due to the lack of students, would give her sweets whenever she visited their shack—Hina would go on and on about things she did.

Moreover, it seemed like she had been filtering what she mentioned to Lisa until last year. This year, more than half of what Hina told her began with “Sis and I”.  In other words, Sayo had been involved with most of the mischief that Hina was up to during the holidays.

(…she’s like the complete opposite of what I imagined her to be.)

Lisa smiled wryly. That stoic person (along with Hina) had apparently tried to feed raspberry pie to the giant squid that lived in the lake, but instead, they nearly fell into the freezing lake. (“We really thought we’re gonna die that time, you know. This time, it was almost as dangerous, cause we found acromantulas deep in the forest. We managed since it was only a group of babies. And, we brought one of their legs back. Wanna see?” “No, I’m fine thanks!”)

 

As she brewed some coffee and prepared snacks for tea, Hina hadn’t stopped talking—until Lisa took a bite out of a scone that Hina had given her, placing it back down onto the table.

The Sneakoscope that was also on the table went off, like a high pitched siren.

Hina blanched.

“Hina, what’s…this?”

“I thought they’re just normal snacks, so I didn’t notice…!”

Hina spat out a few choice words, her face distorting. This was the first time Lisa had seen Hina like this. The siren had continued until Hina lifted the scone off the desk.

Sneakoscopes could sniff out suspicious things. In Hina’s hand was a beautifully decorated scone. Lisa thought it was normal delicious snack, but something shady had found its way into the scone.

—Merlin’s beard. I took a bite.

Because of this, Hina was panicking. An underclassman had given the snacks to Hina as a present, and she shared them with Lisa. Hina herself hadn’t eaten any yet.

As Lisa was pondering, Hina had opened the windows fully, grabbing her broom that she hung on her wall.

“Lisachi, get on. Meow, please find sis for me.”

“G-get on? Where are we going? I can walk,”

“Come on!”

 Dragged forcefully onto the broom by her wrist, uncertainty coursed through her being. Hina’s grave face was exceptionally frightening.

Just like that, Lisa Imai’s new year was off to a troublesome start.

———

She was brought—more like shoved—into the Room of Requirement. Hina had forced Lisa to sit on a soft sofa, then flew off again, attempting to find the culprit who presented the scones.

Hina had a habit of using the Sneakoscope to analyse things that were given to her by strangers. Usually, there wouldn’t be any reaction, but there were also times when the loud alarm would go off. That was when Hina would laugh and burn it, crush it, or modify it and return it to the sender.

(Maybe it’s actually quite bad this time.)

Lisa had already been friends with Hina for 5 years, yet it was the first time she’d seen Hina that freaked out, so she couldn’t help but let her worry grow. What did I eat? What did the Sneakoscope really detect—poison? Drug? Or curse?

Amongst other things, the one thing that worried Lisa the most was—if there was something really dangerous in the scone, and something bad happened to her, was Hina going to take the blame?

The thoughts in her head spiralled down into a deep dark pit. The worry had consumed her, driving her to curl up into a ball on the sofa and hug herself tightly.

There was no reason for her to be afraid. She was scared because she didn’t know what it was that scared her. She wanted someone to comfort her, to see Yukina, to hold Meow close to her heart. However, the person Hina said to find was—

“—…Sayo,”

Would she come? Would she extend a helping hand? Would she rush over like she did that time, and embrace Lisa when she falls?

Lisa, whose imagination had run wild, had forgotten one thing. She was in the Room of Requirement, a place one’s wishes would come true.

The door opened. Lisa’s cat ran towards her, meowing sweetly. Behind it—

“…I heard you needed me?”

At the doorway, drenched in sweat and out of breath, was Sayo.

———

Sayo strode towards the sofa, placed her satchel down next to her feet and scrutinized Lisa’s face. She put her hands on the sides of her face and lifted it in one swift movement. Emerald eyes stared at Lisa as though they peered into her soul. Eyebrows furrowed.

“So, what is it this time?”

“Ah—I ate a scone that Hina got given…then, the Sneakoscope…”

“It went off. I see. How much of that scone did you have?”

“Just a bite…”

“Any change in how you feel? Any heart palpitations, or difficulty breathing?”

“No, but, until just now, I was so scared.”

Sayo examined and felt Lisa’s forehead and neck as she continued to dish questions out one by one. Questions about what she knew about the snack—if she knew who gave it, what the scone was like, if there was anything weird with the flavour or the colouring, who she had met on the way here….

As Lisa answered them dutifully, a strange thing happened. The fear that she had possessed within her had weakened, allowing her to relax. Moreover, Sayo’s hand was hot (as she had apparently sprinted here), which transmitted its warmth to wherever it touched.

“And now?”

“I’m not that scared anymore, I think.”

“I see.”

Her eyebrows were still furrowed. Emerald eyes still piercing her soul. In spite of that, Lisa wasn’t afraid of Sayo. As she closed her eyes and leaned into sweaty palms, the worry and concern that had occupied her being began to disappear gradually, although she knew nothing about what she ate and what would happen in the future.

Sayo held Lisa’s face in her hands and said:

“You should be fine.”

“…really?”

“Yes. It is completely Hina’s fault, but I suppose she dealt with it fine. It wasn’t the best way though.”

“What do you mean?”

“She brought you here by broom so you wouldn’t meet anyone on the way, did she not? This is probably not poison but something close to a hex. A spell that completes itself when it meets its spellcaster.”

“Huh, I didn’t know those existed…and what do you mean by not ‘the best way’?”

“She could have solved the problem back in your dorms. If it was a poison, instead of looking for me who has a poor grasp on the situation, it would be better for Hina to take care of you, since she would have had the tools needed.”

“…maybe Hina panicked?”

“Most likely. It was your first time being involved, right?”

“Yep. That’s why I got scared.”

Her worry continued to shrink as Sayo talked. After bombarding Lisa with questions, Sayo removed her hands from her cheeks. Although the places where Sayo’s hands were came into contact with a chill, Sayo had opted to sit next to her which stopped the worry from returning.

So close, she thought. She had become closer with Sayo, but they had never sat on the same sofa. Until now, they had never been at a distance so close that they could touch each other—Lisa wondered why, but the reason had shown itself. Lisa had gripped Sayo’s robes tightly with both hands.

“Ah, sorry…”

“I don’t mind. It calms you, does it not?”

“…yes.”

“More importantly, could you open your mouth?”

Lisa adjusted her grip on Sayo’s robes, allowing her to pull out a coloured vial from her pocket. The vial fit snugly into her palms and was filled to the brim with pills. The flask itself was blue, so she didn’t realise that the pills were also coloured until Sayo poured some onto her hand. They were a bright turquoise blue.

Lisa opened her mouth obediently, allowing Sayo to place one onto her tongue. “Chew with your molars, then swallow it,” Sayo ordered. Lisa expected it to taste horrible, but was quickly proven wrong when a refreshing sweetness filled her mouth.

“That should be enough for now.”

“So I’ll be fine?”

“Yes.”

All the strength in her body had left her at that point. You will be fine, Sayo nodded. Everything will be fine.

It was bizarre.

———

Yukina had been asked by many people about why Sayo had dashed after a cat, so, to investigate, she had arrived at the Room of Requirement, only for Sayo to pass Lisa to her. (“Ah, Minato, just in time. Could you hold Imai for me?” “Yes, but why?” “A hex.”) In other words, to counter a curse that disturbs the mind and heart, the most efficient way was to calm the person.

When Yukina opened the doors, Lisa’s anxiety had already died down, but she kept quiet since she was really happy about Yukina hugging her.

“Sayo, what was the paper crane that just flew in?”

“It’s a recipe from Hina. Evidently, she had heard everything.”

“That’s wonderful. What was in it?”

“Here. You should know this. What were its effects, and how do you treat it?”

 “…I know this.”

“Please answer me.”

“A crude imitation of an aphrodisiac, it forces the recipient to develop feelings of love and kinship to the caster. The main ingredient is Pixie powder, but it doesn’t contain anything potent…the effects should pass with time.”

“And if you want to deal with the effects immediately?”

“…you give them, strong mint extract!”

Correct, Sayo nodded, and Yukina (who’s gone stiff from the pop quiz) completely relaxed, strength leaving her body—Lisa nearly burst out laughing. It seemed like Yukina still disliked studying as much as she used to. Whenever Lisa commended her efforts, she would swell with pride, which was cute but hilarious at the same time.

Sayo didn’t look like she was that impressed, but in the end the corners of her mouth lifted, exposing thoughts that were similar to Lisa’s.

“Please excuse me.”

“Sayo, you’re going?”

“I left a half-finished essay at the library.”

She had an important assignment due in by the end of the month. By the way, Meow had sneaked into the library without the hawk-eyed librarian noticing and brought Sayo out without a hitch. How fearsome. …Said Meow was now begging Sayo for a reward of _lutovermis_ (Lisa still couldn’t bear to watch), purring contently.

“Meow did a fantastic job again. That’s the spirit, Meow, whenever there’s a problem, just go straight to Sayo.”

“Minato. Can you stop indoctrinating it?”

“You get involved anyway so it’s not illogical, right?”

“…”

Sayo sighed deeply, but it was not enough to warrant Yukina’s attention. Lisa could no longer stop herself and fell into shrieks of laughter, and so had to bury her face into Yukina’s slim shoulder.

———

The door to her room creaked open when the whole of Slytherin was in a deep sleep. Sayo Hikawa leaned against the wall as she greeted the visitor. The person who joined her by her side was her sister, who was supposed to be resting in another house.

“Sis, I’m sorry about today. Thanks a lot.”

“Indeed, you were careless, but it’s fine. Nothing bad came out of it.”

Sayo was surprised by the words that came out of her own mouth. Something bad did come out of it.

It was hectic. She was trying to work on her essay in the library when the animal started causing a ruckus. Everyone around her stared at the pair in shock, causing the librarian to rush over in an attempt to grab the furball of a culprit, glaring at Sayo with the force of a hungry predator. Taking Meow, Sayo packed up as quickly as she could and left without realising she had forgotten to take the two rolls of parchment she had written for her report. They were gone by the time she went to look for them in the library. It wasn’t too disastrous since she remembered what she had already written, but having to redo what she had already done once was a chore.

“Why didn’t I notice it? I have checked it though…”

“The spellcaster and the student who gave it to you were most likely different people. Since you weren’t wary of that girl, it couldn’t be helped that the Sneakoscope didn’t react.”

“But why? The scone still had weird stuff in it.”

“Think about it. You won’t be affected by that amount of poison, will you?”

“I got it! It’s cause it was Lisachi who held it…”

Hina’s eyes narrowed as the image of the girl who was rather susceptible to magical effects surfaced in her mind  (as shown when she passed out from taking restorative draught).

She had panicked—so unlike herself—because her friend was caught up in the incident. If Hina alone was affected, she would not get mad, nor would she even think about getting revenge (on the other hand, Sayo would do both). But this time was different. The reason why she sent the memo to the Room of Requirement without going personally was because she had a long chat with the student who attempted to curse Hina.

To say the least, it was fame tax. As top of the year and the ace player of their Quidditch team, friendly and easy to talk to, she was popular at Hogwarts. Recently, the cool Yukina had received something similarly hexed in her gifts, which again was disposed of by Sayo.

That was it. However, it didn’t change the fact that it was an incident with ill-intent, which was even more sickening when her close friend was harmed as well.

“I wanna live an easy life!”

“Have you considered an engagement? It’ll keep the bugs away.”

“Aha, you’re so funny, sis! Hey, can we go on an adventure?”

“Where to?”

“The Forest?”

“…I’m sick of acromantulas.”

“We’ll just avoid that bit!”

Sayo sighed at the sight of her sister grinning mischievously. She was already dressed in clothes that were easy to move in, having anticipated her demand for an escapade.

Whenever Hina felt down, she would always want to hang out with Sayo. It was annoying. However, the both of them firmly kept their promise of not revealing their amicable relationship in public.

She wanted to live freely. Although living away from home had given them time away from the cage, it wasn’t enough. I want to become even freer—Sayo shared the same sentiment as Hina.

…Breaking curfew, ignoring rules, disregarding orders. The two of them knew they were being self-indulgent children. Yet, they couldn’t not resist against the chains that bound them, because they were Sayo and Hina.

“Hina, what do you want to do tonight?”

“I wanna see a unicorn! See, the moon’s pretty tonight.”

“Then we’ll go to the pond we found last year. And your broom?”

“I forgot, so take me, sis!”

“Alright, alright…guess it can’t be helped.”

She picked up her broom with her sister urging. What was she, a Prefect who’s normally fussy about the rules, doing? If she was seen by her housemates or professors, she most definitely would be treated with disgust. Sayo had always been nonchalant about what others thought about her, so the opinions of others really didn’t matter at this point in time; it just meant that she didn’t have any right to defend herself if she got told off.

—If it was her…

If it was the Prefect of Hina’s house, the person whom she’d recently gotten close to, would she chuckle at their pathetic little rebellion?

Such a thought flashed in a corner of Sayo’s mind, without even the slightest doubt of why she appeared in her thoughts.

 

The night went on, concealing the girls’ dreams in darkness.

———

The last Saturday of January was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. Lisa treaded across the snow-laden courtyard. As a 5th year, she had already visited Hogsmeade on many occasions, leaving no inch of the magical village unexplored—but this time, her company was different.

(…Huh, I’ve never thought that I’d go out with the Sayo Hikawa.)

To Lisa, it was still a strange concept. Before the year started…no, even before she started at Hogwarts, she had never imagined interacting with Sayo for more than the bare minimum, let alone casually inviting her on a Hogsmeade trip.

It was Lisa who asked Sayo to come along. According to Hina, Sayo was perfectly capable of displaying common courtesy during formal events, but lacked finesse in social interactions amongst friends. Recalling the events on the day after the ball, Lisa could only nod in agreement. After the ball ended without a hitch, she had wanted to release all her built-up stress by by having as much fun as she could—Sayo’s impromptu dance party was not what Lisa would choose to do to relieve stress.

“Sayo, stuff like that can be taken as an attempt at flirting, you know?”

“Wha—…! I, I didn’t mean,”

“I’ll teach you an easier way to relax. As a gift. This time, I’ll give you half of my day.”

“…I am honoured.”

Remembering the silly conversation between them, Lisa giggled.

As they spent more time together, Lisa felt as though she was starting to understand Sayo a bit more. The girl who always displayed stoicism on her face was actually rather helpless in certain areas of life.

 

It was the evening of the day after the Yule Ball that Lisa finally got to relax like she wanted.

The house elf had gone all out doing their makeup, which included using an extortionate amount of hair spray. They wouldn’t be able to go to bed without removing all the stuff on them, prompting both of them to head to the Prefects’ Bathroom. Although they had slept in the same bed before, it was their first time bathing together.

They had completely lost track of time; it was very late when they finally had enough of making various kinds of bubbles in the bath and chatting about hair and skin care routines, so Sayo volunteered to escort Lisa back to the Gryffindor dorms. However, Hogwarts was just like a haunted house in the middle of the night. Lisa couldn’t help but latch onto Sayo whenever a portrait decided to do a jump scare, or when a cat decided to crash into some suit of armour; she even had to have Sayo support her on her own two feet when she nearly fainted at the sight of a silhouette of a ghost.

(Huh? Isn’t the second half just plain embarrassing?)

To Lisa, that day’s events were really fun regardless. Bragging to Hina about bathing with Sayo afterwards led to Hina puffing up her cheeks and complaining  (“I’m so jealous! The Prefects’ Bathroom must be so big and it must’ve been so much fun—), which left Lisa with a sense of victory. As the last night before the holidays, it was a precious memory.

 

Does Sayo not go to Hogsmeade at all? To Lisa’s question, Hina answered, “she goes but only to get stuff for potions.” The rest of what she said had discouraged Lisa from probing further. (“It’s mostly stuff that would probably land sis a detention if school found out. Like,” “Please don’t tell me!”

…It seemed like both Hikawa sisters had their own problems with conduct. There was no need for Lisa to know more than she already did.

It’s because anything further than that was not Lisa’s business. To Lisa, hanging out with them as normal friends was enough.

(This reminds me; I wanted to speak to Sayo about a certain thing.)

When Lisa went home for Christmas, she had questioned her dad about many things: from the simplest of questions to things Lisa considered to be of utmost importance. She didn’t feel comfortable discussing the matter with Yukina or Hina, fearing it might cross a line that shouldn’t be crossed, opting to maintain her silence.

But, if it was Sayo…

No matter how ignorant Lisa might seem, no matter how inconsiderate her words might be, Lisa felt as though Sayo would listen without getting annoyed or agitated.

 

Lisa exited the Great Hall and stepped into snow. Noticing Sayo who was leaning on the school gates, she brought her hand up to wave at Sayo, only to put her hand back down when she saw another person approaching Sayo first.

(…That’s, Chisato Shirasagi?)

Lisa had heard of the name before. She was famous amongst the students, moreover, she was the recipient of Aya’s failed attempts at wooing her over. Ravenclaw’s star, out of everyone’s league. The girl was from a well-known pure-blood family, which was probably why she was acquainted with Sayo.

Chisato approached Sayo leisurely and initiated conversation. Although Lisa couldn’t listen in to their conversation, she could see their expressions. She could see that Sayo had her eyebrows furrowed.

I haven’t seen this face in a long time, Lisa mused. Sayo always had her stern face on during Prefect meetings and classes, but she didn’t glare that intensely. Of course, not even a trace of this harsh expression would not be seen on her face whenever Lisa and Yukina ambushed the twins’ experimenting in the Room of Requirement.

 

What shocked Lisa was how Chisato was unperturbed by the scowl displayed by Sayo. Instead, she shortened the distance between her and Sayo, went onto tiptoes, and stretched her hand towards Sayo’s forehead. A slender finger caressed Sayo’s brows.

(Are they good friends?)

Lisa wondered, but Sayo’s expression remained stern, swatting Chisato’s hand away from her face with annoyance. Then, she said something that prompted Chisato to giggle. Occasionally, Sayo would try and make a joke with a straight face, but the Sayo right now did not give that impression. Neither was it a friendly atmosphere, like how Yukina and Hina would take a jab at each other without reservations.

There was a weird tension in the air that borderlined on discomfort. However, Lisa had only started making friendly conversation with Sayo for less than two months. There were definitely plenty of different Sayos that Lisa didn’t know. Even so, in Lisa’s eyes, the Sayo interacting with Chisato looked as though her heart was veiled in a thick, dark mist.  

“—Imai.”

Sayo lifted her head, noticing Lisa. Despite not hearing anything Chisato and her had talked about, Lisa heard the voice calling her clearly. Sayo’s voice was normal, stern and confident, without any trace of contempt.

“Sorry, I made you wait.”

“It’s alright. Let’s go.”

Lisa discovered a hint of a scowl remaining on Sayo’s face. If Lisa shortened their distance apart, reached out, and attempted to smooth out the wrinkle between the furrowed brows, how would Sayo react? There was no definite answer to this question, so Lisa terminated the train of thought. She could only tread on by Sayo’s side.

The snow that danced and fell around them was so pure and white, it was almost transparent—complimenting Chisato’s departing smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> House elves speak in third person canonically. Original author didn't give the house elf a name, so I made one up (Pokey). Isn't it cute?
> 
> I didn't know what chanmery was, had to google.
> 
> Peace out, thanks for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> Lutovermis = a creature that the author made up. Original name was literally 'mud-eating worm', so I named it lutovermis--luto for mud, vermis for worm (both from Latin.)
> 
> Meow = Nyan-chan in the game, but I opted to name the cat Meow to add some British-ness.
> 
> Vampire's Restorative Draught = again, not canon. Tried my best to give it a good name.
> 
> Aojiru cookies = Aojiru is a type of health drink in Japan, consisting of mostly kale (grim!) (lit. green juice).
> 
> Thanks for reading, hope you've enjoyed it. Buckle up, it's going to be a loooong ride (author has posted 19 chapters but they're still not officially together. Slow Burn.)


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